Welcome to my first Criminal Minds story. This revolves around Reid and an Original Character. I doubt this story will have too much pizazz. Most of this is just to get an idea that's been nagging my brain out of the way. I want to make this a story that I'll actually complete so I'm doing some research and attempting to put some real effort in figuring out Canon characters and trying the develop my own. Any C&C is appreciated. If anyone has any pointers, I would love to hear them. I've always got room for improvement.
On a side note, this story will not insert my character into any actual cases. This will be more like filler episodes; everything that goes on inbetween. I will be starting with season 1 and work my way into the others. I want to stick to the storylines without trailing off from the series. So far I haven't seen any need to tweak, but we'll see. Chapter One I deem pretty boring. It's mostly just there to introduce my Character and her setting.
Disclaimer: All Criminal Minds related content belongs to their original creator. The content used within this story is strictly for non-profit, creative development.
Chapter 1 - Discontent with Your Coffee?
The wind shifted around the bushes of the café terrace, the sound of fluttering leaves drowned out by the busy streets and bustling white collars. It was 9:23 a.m. and morning rush had come and gone. Leaning over the wrought iron railing of the second floor, Charisse breathed in the morning air: a musky, convoluted scent caused by the heavy car traffic, the ever constant steam vents pushing out the efforts of the hardworking bakery next door, and the natural scent of city.
Her breath rushed out, a seemingly frustrated sigh, "God, I hate this place."
She had only been here for two months and already couldn't stand it. Like any other young, impressionable youth, she came to the city in search of some form of excitement or adventure. Nothing like reality to slap you in the face; now, all I need is a bum boyfriend who's dumped me, no money or friends, shame of telling my parents and I'll be a spitting image of Pretty Woman—sans the prostitution of course. Though I wouldn't mind a 'Mr. Gorgeous and Where have you been all my life' picking me up off the roadside.
A rueful smile flittered across her face as she grabbed the fresh hand towel off of her shoulder and made her way back inside the café, carefully avoiding a fall down the tight, spiral staircase leading back down into the main floor. Wiping down the condiments stand, she attempts to avoid heading back to her job behind the counter, taking orders from grumpy customers demanding coffee and other legal, highly addictive stimulants.
And heaven forbid if a customer asked her to make them a sandwich. It always bugged her that she couldn't make them just like those commercials. The ones with the perfectly placed meat and cheese slices, and all of the extra fixings always stayed just perfectly between the bread, never falling off to ruin the plate's presentation. Coffee and tea is good. Those she could work with.
Just then, the bell hanging over the door rang, disrupting her digressing thoughts as another young woman in an employee apron bustled inside, tying her hair up into a net.
"Hey Char, what are you still doing here? I thought your shift was over after morning rush?"
Charisse rolled her eyes in mild amusement. "Oh my God, Marie, you haven't heard? Mitch totally bailed on us yesterday; I've got to work full time to cover his ass. So much for two weeks notice." Charisse managed to flail her arms dramatically, making quite a scene in the empty store. "He up and left us all hanging. Mr. Krauss, was in uproar and practically begged me to stay and take on the shifts."
Marie crossed her arms, giving Charisse a knowing look.
"Okay, maybe not begged, but he was pretty insistent. Damn me for not being a bitch. My life would be so much easier if I could just say no." She gave a heavy sigh and tapped her fingernail against the countertop in frustration.
Her co-worker let out a gusty laugh and leaned over the counter. "Sure honey, whatever you say. "
Marie knew how her friend could get. Always expressive and a little drama queen, that girl's antics never ceased to entertain her.
Just then, a couple came into the café. Marie quickly settled herself behind the counter and pushed the brooding brunette aside. "Go take a break. Maybe refill the sugar packets and ketchup bottles at the tables or something. I'll take care of the counter."
Charisse decided to grab a magazine off the small rack set next to the large bookshelf and settled herself down on one of the plush sofa chairs in the corner of the shop. Tuning out the sound of the people around her, she dug into the articles, feeding her joy of "better tips on styling your hair" and "10 ways to match up your makeup."
By the time she had finished her break, a few more customers had already settled in the café. Marie was bustling around the tables, making sure cups were filled and orders were served.
Sitting on a stool, behind the service counter, Charisse started to people watch. It was something she always did when nothing too pressing was happening in the café. On the rare occasion, someone interesting or eccentric would visit and help dissolve some of the boring overtones of the workspace.
Unfortunately, today was not that day. Scanning over the couple, it was same old, same old. Boring. The older woman in the corner munching on a pita sandwich looked like she was in for a quick lunch. More boring. Then there was a teenager giggling on the phone, though Charisse was pretty sure the kid should been in school. Cliché.
Her eyes landed on a young man in a casual button up and corduroy slacks reading a stack of papers all perfectly placed in neat manila folders, a laptop in front of him. Really Boring.
She continues to scrutinize the man so deeply immersed in his work.
He's the epitome of bookworm. Maybe he's one of those pseudo intellectuals. They always seem to stop in here like it's some sort of scene place. Charisse shakes her head at the ridiculousness of the notion. Last week they had one of those. They carried in absurdly large books and were constantly peering over the pages and looking around the room for anybody that would take notice. It's sad really. Could they not see that the entire staff knew what they were doing?
Her eyes narrowed as she rested her chin under a propped up hand. With a face as serious as that, I can't imagine him faking it. The man had a heavy crease in his forehead. Clearly he's thinking too hard. She laughed at the level of seriousness his face took on as he practically glared at the pages in his hand.
Just then, the bell on the door rang, bringing her attention back to the counter.
He could feel her eyes on him all this time. It was like second nature to pay close attention to his surroundings. Taking a minute from his work, he turned his gaze over to the counter as the woman greeted the customers and started to take their order.
Her hand lightly waved in front of her as she talked in a very animated manner. Resting his hand against his chin, index finger laying against his cheek in wonder, he blatantly stares at the young woman curious as to why she was staring at him so intently just seconds before.
Charisse tucked a stray strand of golden brown hair behind her ear and ducked her head slightly at some comment by the customer. A smile lit up her face and she let out a light chuckle, shy and slightly embarrassed.
He couldn't help profiling her; After all, years of work with the BAU tended to do that to a person. But, he was brought out of his reverie by Marie's sudden appearance, blocking his view of the employee. He couldn't help but tense at being caught so off guard.
"Hey sugar, need anything? You've barely touched your coffee." Her half upturned smile and casual pose allowed him to fall back at ease. He returned the smile and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "I'm okay. I've just been a little distracted."
Marie walked off with a knowing smile.
"So—," Charisse just stared at Marie, taking note of her earlier coziness with the customer she'd been eyeing.
Confused, Marie stares at Charisse with her eyebrows drawn into her forehead. "So?"
"Who's the bookwork in the corner?"
Marie nudges Charisse in her side with an elbow, scolding her for the blatant disrespect. "That's Doctor Reid."
Charisse chokes on her soda and starts up a coughing fit, resulting in Marie slapping the poor woman's back with gusto.
Marie looks over to the man, checking to see if he's noticed them talking about him. There's a slight upturn to his lips, and she can't help but feel mildly embarrassed for the spectacle her friend just made.
"What!? Doctor?" Charisse looked back and forth between her co-worker and the customer in utter disbelief. "Wait wait, you're telling me that young guy is a Doctor!?"
"I know, I said the same thing when he introduced himself."
Charisse looks at Marie expectantly.
"He's not a medical doctor, but he's got a lot of education under his belt. Guy comes here at least once a week. I just give him endless coffee refills and friendly hellos. On occasion, we'll actually have a conversation, but I tend to leave him to himself."
Marie picked off some bits of crumb left from a pastry off the counter.
"In fact, there hasn't been a time he didn't bring some form of work with him."
"Hmm," Charisse stood up on her tiptoes, peering across the room at the man. "Doctor Reid." She spoke to nobody in particular. It was more out of the strange curiosity she directed at him than anything else.
Feeling a little nostalgic, she snatches up the free pot of coffee and starts to make her way over to where he's sitting.
Marie was going to remind Char that she'd just checked up on him, but she knew it would be a lost cause. Shaking her head she goes back to work. That girl.
Without any hesitation, Charisse walks up to the cozy corner he is in and deliberately plops down next to him on the sofa, jarring him from the impact.
"Hi!" She said with a cheery smile. Reid just stared at the girl with some alarm. He couldn't help but wonder on the side how she'd managed to do that without splashing scalding coffee all over both of them. He was going to run the physics of it in his head, but realized he needed to respond.
"Uh—hello?"
"Need any coffee, Dr. Reid?"
His mind went blank for a couple of seconds before he peered down at his now lukewarm cup still full to the brim. His eyes shift back to her, and he can't help but stare at her a little strangely. "Um, I'm okay," he says slowly.
Curiously, he wondered why she was there. Apparently, she had inquired about him through Marie.
"Is there something I can help you with, Ms.--?" He faltered on her name. Marie had never mentioned her co-worker before. They had not talked enough to even go into details about their circle of friends.
Charisse rested her hand on her neck and gave him a profile view of her smile. "It's Charisse, Charisse Macon."
He settled himself more firmly into the couch, sitting up properly and putting down his papers in a neat pile. Taking off his glasses, he turned back to his new acquaintance. "Doctor Spencer Reid, though you seemed to have already known that."
"Well when I want to know something, I'm really, really good at pestering people till they tell me what I want—just so they can get rid of me. I call it death by nagging."
Reid gave a light-hearted laugh.
Charisse sets down the coffee pot and pokes at the papers on the table. "What's this you're working on?"
"Just an online article."
"Oh, I see."
Suddenly, his cell phone went off, decidedly ending their short, awkward conversation. "Um, Excuse me."
Charisse nodded her head in understanding and proceeded to leave. "Sure thing."
"Reid." Holding the phone up to his ear closely, he focused on the person on the other line. "Uh huh. Yeah."
Charisse sidled up to Marie, placing the coffee pot back in the machine. "Well, he's a little less boring than I suspected, but only a little." Marie pinched her friend's arm, effectively getting a yelp in response.
Reid suddenly stared directly at Charisse, taking a close look up and down her body, making her tense up at the sudden and evasive attention. Just what the hell does he think he's doing, looking at me like that!?
Still looking at her, he continued with the conversation, completely unaware of the woman's offense to his actions. "Well judging from the file: her age, height, and body structure indicates an average added weight of around 30 to 40 lbs." There was a slight pause, the light hum of another speaking over the other line. "Yeah, I'm sure. I've got a good reference here."
It was like that silence you feel just before a train wreck. The overwhelming indignation she felt by his words flared up her anger like a tsunami crashing down.
Marie took one look at Charisse and began to back up behind the counter, practically hiding from the scene unfolding.
Charisse had been feeling a little moody today. More so than her usual dramatic personality gave off. It was probably said mood that made her sudden lack of inhibitions drop through the floor.
Without a second thought of the consequences, Charisse stomped over to Reid and deliberately snatched up his phone and terminated the call. His eyes widened at the sudden action, completely taken aback by the interruption. "Excuse me-"
Cutting him off, she jabbed her finger in his shoulder non-too gently. "Excuse you! How dare you! Are you insinuating that I'm fat!?"
Marie slowly started to crouch down, trying to hide her laughter. She knew once her friend started, there was no stopping.
Reid held up his hands, unsure of how to handle the situation. "I didn't—"
"Think! You didn't think!" Poking him again in the shoulder, Reid winced at the contact, her nail digging into his sweater. "How do you even justif—I can't even begin—what on earth gives you the right to look at me like that and say such--." At this point, Charisse's face was taking on an unflattering shade of reddish purple.
"You---I—uuuurgh!" With one last push, she stormed out of the main room and into the back storage, exiting into the alleyway and slamming the door.
As the echo subsided, Marie covered her face with her hand, attempting to stifle the choked laughs pushing out of her throat.
Reid's cheeks were a deep red hue as he continued to silently sputter where he stood.
"Very smooth, Doctor," Marie snorted out between her laughing fit.
She walked over; arms crossed and head shaking in amusement. "You really had that one coming. Using her as a reference was probably the worst thing you could have done."
"I don't understand. I wasn't calling her fat-"He was shooting out his excuses a mile a minute.
"Lesson from the wise, kiddo. Never put women and weight in the same sentence."
"But, I wasn't even talking about her."
Marie grabbed a lock of hair and gave it a playful tug. "You knew that, but try to look at it from her perspective."
He just continued to give her a blank stare.
Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and began to gather up the pile of sugar wrappers and empty coffee cup. "Tis a hopeless case."
Clearing his throat, Reid grabbed up his files and placed a tip on the coffee table. "I think it'd be best if I head out. Thanks for the refills, Marie."
"Take care, honey. Don't be a stranger."
Without another word, Reid made his way out of the shop, shoulders still tense.
When Marie finished cleaning up and taking care of the few customers that stopped by, she tip toed her way out back in search of Charisse.
Finding her sitting on an empty crate, lightly rubbing at her eyes, Marie walked up and playfully pushed her co-worker over, forcing Charisse to make room for another. Giving a little laugh, Charisse scooted some more, making sure her friend didn't fall off.
"Hey there, kiddo."
Giving out a shaky breath, Charisse gave a muffled hi.
"So—PMS much?" Charisse's cheeks puffed up at the comment, but she still managed to give a half-hearted laugh. "Maybe a little."
Marie raised her eyebrow at the younger woman, "Only a little?"
"Mm—Maybe a lot of a little," Charisse replied with a knowing smile. But, her face suddenly faltered, a slight frown marring it. "I'm sorry about earlier."
Marie giggled and pushed her in the shoulder. "I'm not the one in need of an apology, Missy. Though, I'd pay a mint for a picture of the look on Dr. Reid's face when you told him off. It was very entertaining."
Charisse smiled albeit nervously. "Is he still in there?"
"Nah, he left shortly after. Poor kid didn't even understand. I tried to explain, but I don't think his logic can fully wrap around social taboos and tact."
Charisse gave the older woman an incredulous look. "You can't be serious."
Marie just looked back at her. "Think about it, Charisse. Not to sound mean, but that guy is the classic case of the genius stereotype. He's got an IQ through the roof, holds multiple doctorates and other degrees and is still in his 20s. He's got "I was a social outcast" stamped on his forehead. He clearly didn't' know he had his foot in the grave."
"And the other on a banana peel." Charisse shook her head and let out a loud sigh. "I guess I can let it slide, but only this time. And he's still under my shit list for the next twenty four hours."
Marie nodded in agreement. "Understandable." Then, she leaned over and nudged Charisse in the elbow. "But you've gotta admit, he is kinda cute."
"Whaaaat?" Charisse sputtered, choking on air.
Marie laughed, wrapping her arm around her friend. "What do you mean, "what"? He is."
"Mm—Yeah—," Charisse looked back at Marie and snorted. "—'til he opens his mouth."
"Reid!" Morgan huddled over to his desk, stacks of files in hand. Morgan leaned towards Reid with a questioning look. "What happened? You never called back after you cut off." A playful glint appeared in Morgan's eye. "Some hot lil' honey distract you?"
As if coming out of a haze, realization struck him. "I left my phone."